


ergo propter hoc

by sabinelagrande



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsmooch, First Kiss, Internal Monologue, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-15
Updated: 2009-04-15
Packaged: 2017-10-06 10:51:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Correlation does not imply causation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ergo propter hoc

Rodney has known- for years, for _decades_, for all the time that matters- that correlation does not imply causation. It is one of the few things that Rodney believes, really, truly, and with no hesitation whatsoever. If he were the kind of person who willingly submitted themselves to ridiculous amounts of pain for the sake of beauty, he'd have it tattooed across some very significant portion of his anatomy, like his heart or his neck or his forehead or something. It's something that he doesn't even think about, something that his brain just automatically filters every situation through.

For example, just because his heart rate goes up a little when John walks into his room, it doesn't mean there's any connection between the two events. Maybe the sudden opening of the door triggers an instinctive fight-or-flight response in Rodney's brain. Maybe the two events are simply coincidental, and the rise in Rodney's heart rate is due to transient arrhythmia or an idiopathic condition. It's also possible there is something acting on both of them at once; maybe the breach of the relatively closed environment of Rodney's room caused the introduction of foreign particulate matter that is affecting both their pulses.

If John chooses to walk over to where Rodney is standing and straightening one of his diplomas, it's not necessarily true that he's walking over to Rodney. The light could more favorable in that part of the room; maybe the floor dips slightly down towards that area and John is following the path of least resistance. Again, it could be due to any number or combination of factors, none of which could be immediately deduced by Rodney with any level of certainty.

When they're quite close together, John leans over and curls his hands around the sides of Rodney's head, his thumbs tracking over Rodney's jawline. He doesn't say anything, leaving his motivations forever opaque; instead, he just pulls Rodney close and kisses him, hungrily, open mouthed.

It isn't too hard or too wet or too fast, and Rodney experiences a number of reactions that can be considered to have been caused by, or at least to be sequelae of, being kissed- opening of his mouth, closure of his eyes, relaxation of his muscles, further increase of his pulse. The point is, though, that it doesn't follow that any of the effects that Rodney is feeling wouldn't have happened if John wasn't the one kissing him. So if Rodney feels like he's going to die and like he wants to live forever, like his life is complete and everything is about to begin, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with John.

Likewise, the origin of John's decision to come in and start kissing Rodney has very much to do with John but really very little to do with Rodney. There are many possible causes that could have contributed to John's decision, and Rodney only accounts for a few of them. The hypothesis that this event has occurred because John harbors some kind of feelings for him is just that- nothing but a hypothesis, and a pretty poor one, honestly. Not even the pang in Rodney's chest that tends to happen at the same time that he thinks about John having feelings for him means anything, unless he can prove through experimentation and repetition that it does.

When John backs away, stuttering and stammering, Rodney pulls him back in, his hands slipping into the ridiculously soft hair at the nape of John's neck, making a thorough, deliberate survey of John's mouth.

How will he know if he doesn't test it?


End file.
